Rotational Gameplay in The Sims 2 is MORE FUN!

In this video, I'm showing you how I play The Sims 2 rotationally, including how I handle aging, University, addding new families, and more! Plus, my passionate ranting about why I love playing this way & why Sims 2 is best!
Streams on Twitch 3x week - / pleasantsims
Like my Sims 2 videos? Help me make more by becoming a Patron - www.patreon.com/pleasantsims?...
▶ My Sims 2 Tracking Spreadsheets - pleasantsims.com/tracking-spr...
▶ Shorter University Mod (8 days) - cyjon.net/node/116
Sims 2 Tutorials Playlist - • The Sims 2 Tutorials
Wanna know how my game looks so good? Watch these videos:
▶▶▶ Beautify Your 'Hood - • Sims 2 Tutorial - How ...
▶▶▶ Update Sims 2 - • Making Sims 2 Look MOD...
▶▶▶ Modern Loading Screens - • MODERN LOADING SCREENS...
*********************************************************************
🔷 PLEASANT SIMS LINKS 🔷
▶▶▶ Sims 2 Recommended Mods - pleasantsims.com/sims-2-mods/
▶▶▶ Sims 2 Gameplay Rules - pleasantsims.com/pleasant-sim...
▶▶▶ Sims 2 Guides - pleasantsims.com/tag/sims-2-g...
*********************************************************************
🔷 BUY THE SIMS 2 (Affiliate Links) 🔷
Amazon:
amzn.to/2EmtMef
Ebay:
ebay.us/oC6IhO
Disclaimer: If you click through one of the links above and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
*********************************************************************
🔷 CONNECT WITH ME 🔷
▶▶▶ Website - pleasantsims.com/
▶▶▶ Origin ID - PleasantSims (Add me as a friend!)
▶▶▶ Twitch - / pleasantsims
▶▶▶ Twitter - / pleasantsims
▶▶▶ Discord - / discord
*********************************************************************
Thanks for watching! Don't forget to like, subscribe, and comment to let me know what you think!

[@Treytinoxo]

This is what I imagine when people say “god has a plan for you” just Cindy at her computer looking confused through her spreadsheets.

[@shrilleth]

"jokes on you, my god uses a wants-based playstyle, so it's all up to me"

[@gdust6579]

LOL. thats funny. lately i been wondering if my deceased loved one watches me like im a sim, crying and shouting up at him and he just is like ,go over there and do that action, stop canceling my command from mood failure, go take a shower buahaha >:D

[@MkatSims]

Cindy: Have I lost you? Me: Kinda but tbh i just like to hear you talking about things you're passionate about.

[@PleasantSims]

Lol! Thank you!!

[@leafears3292]

oh my god, same. this is one of my favorite things to do, lol-- just listen to people talk about stuff they love. and cindy's dedication to TS2 is so inspiring

[@jrenee1040]

I swear I've had this exact conversation before like word for word! I'm like that too, I just like to hear people talk about their passions. I'm not sure why, it's even when I don't mentally understand the concept, or have 0 interest in the subject itself. This includes me watching twitch streams for games I have no interest in playing myself. It's to the point when I can give advice for games I've never actually played. I thought this was common but some people react to it like I'm weird lol

[@darkchocolate9349]

@@jrenee1040 I’m that type of person in my whole family and friend groups and no one ever cares ab my passions (except my parents kinda) when I talk. It’s sad but also sweet?

[@thesims2university]

Yes I love listening to people talk about what they are passionate about :) it just makes me so happy for them

[@mistercritter]

Cindy, you really have figured out the best way to play this game. I feel like you deserve a special award from Will Wright or something, because you're single-handedly keeping this game alive and interesting for me and many others. As we both know, TS2 deserves so much more love than it gets, and you are doing an excellent job of that.

[@PleasantSims]

Thanks so much Chris! That is my mission in life!

[@Alyssia297]

so true !! sims 2 is my fav game and my safe place and she revived my love for the game !!!!!!! its bringing me so much peace :)

[@marandathompson6367]

Well said, Chris!

[@Anna-un7xx]

TRUTH! :D

[@judas1523]

wait he's alive?

[@anothergirl3209]

Cindy is the real game changer 💕❤️

[@Alyssia297]

truer words were never spoken

[@pinroshan020]

Hell yeah! She is the reason why I played sims 2 Complete Collection again. Sims 4 and sims 3 sucks.

[@rubylee7839]

@@pinroshan020 I agree sims 3 is still Very good game to me, but sims 4 is awful it’s fun for the first hour and then is so boring after and I’ve spent almost 1000 on sims 4 from buying the bloody packs. Been binge playing the sims 2 recently.

[@branwhen]

😂

[@Max_6200]

Playing rotationally actually kinda makes you think about things you normally wouldn't even add to your usual gamestyle. New possibilities, new kinds of atmosphere Yes, exciting it is

[@PleasantSims]

I completely agree!!

[@witchofwillow1206]

It opened my eyes to the possibilities. I started implementing sociological aspects to the many generations I’ve created such as but not limited to racism, sexism, and homophobia. I love playing my town and eventually watching it shine through outdated biases and making me proud.

[@witchofwillow1206]

What are some ideas you’ve implemented into your game?

[@Max_6200]

@@witchofwillow1206 well, I haven't been playing for that long, so I'm still trying to figure out mechanical aspects. Do I want 100% control over the hood like Cindy does? Or do I want to allow the game spawn its own people? But once I've done with that I am going to actually think about social climate and stuff like that, yes. I really like your idea of racism and other stuff, I'm kinda tired of everyone being so nice and friendly :)

[@witchofwillow1206]

@@Max_6200 I wanted to add some realism to the game and I love watching soap operas and reading dramas so I try to incorporate that as well. Playing with Don Lothario and the Pleasant family got me started with storylines.

[@eylul-tv8hb]

"They just jump from one household to other..." I felt called out

[@AURIELLA333]

Sameee

[@Skwidooful]

I'm not analytical, I have ADHD and it stresses me to keep track like she does. I also get bored, so in order to play and keep my attention, I play in chaos mode. I am playing total anarchy. I still play wants based, but my gameplay is based on story progression in a clockwise rotation, not specifically kept track of like this. I follow a lot of her gameplay rules to keep it from getting too same-y from my preferences, but I cant keep a strict formula like she does lol. I jump from house to house on a whim, sometimes ill play a week, or a day, depending on what serves me in that family.

[@andid]

​@@Skwidooful Yeah I've played rotationally for as long as I can remember, never once with a spreadsheet! But I wouldn't call mine anarchy. I play it like a soap opera, so not just jumping anywhere, but where the story dictates. When Daniel Pleasant elopes with Kaylynn, the story needs to jump to them, then back to Mary Sue for her rebound, then probably to Dreamer/Broke or some other relationship development, etc. I couldn't just interrupt their arcs and go to the Oldies for no reason. No offense Oldies. But a main cast and supporting cast usually develops, so I wouldn't want to play them all equally. I just cheat ages as necessary - might lose/gain a few days, years, life stages - if it works for the story it works. I try to update household descriptions as I go, especially if I'm stepping away for awhile. I'll often bust out a lengthy word doc if I'm creating a neighborhood from scratch, need to keep track of histories, or plan out longer arcs. It's fascinating to see someone approach it so mechanically as a life simulator though, and I bet her approach does make longterm play easier, because once I'm out of stories I'm out of luck. But I could never!

[@Simney]

Here's a tip I learned that makes my life easier in rotations! So, when I have sims grow up and move out, I go into SimPE and change their household name according to the generation. So, for example, when Dustin Broke moves out, I change the household name to "Broke II" and when Beau moves out, "Broke III" and so on. It helps a lot, not only with tracking but with the family funds cheat as well. It doesn't change anyone's last name, just the household name :)

[@milacruz3970]

That's so smart!

[@VioletKitty411]

Exactly what I do if I have more than one with the same last name.

[@batguy39]

Epic

[@emilyr123]

Brilliant! Thank you!

[@CurlySpicyGirl]

OMG YOU ARE SO SMART

[@Posionseeker]

Before I found your channel, I would play the same family for generations upon generations to the point where my sims could marry their long, long, lost cousins that I never aged up because I couldn't be bothered to play multiple families at a time. After finding your channel though and binging your pleasantview videos (both the og and reboot you did), I've begun playing rotationally and I gotta say it's like a breath of fresh air. There's nothing worse than filling up a neighborhood with your own sims and how many generations later, seeing your founders husbands ex wife who hasn't aged a day meeting the great great grandchild of their love child

[@sentimentalelemental7353]

There is something so soothing about your voice.

[@PleasantSims]

Aww, thanks!

[@laylasims-games6051]

Not gonna lie, Cindy sounds like a school teacher. I totally mean that in a good way!!

[@PleasantSims]

@@laylasims-games6051 I wanted to be a teacher when I was young. I love to teach, so now I just do it on KZbin. :)

[@Grimonvacation]

It’s like the Truman show, they don’t know they’re being watched but you enjoy the drama in your Sims’s lives 👁👄👁

[@aspirationfailure6100]

Ever since I found and tried rotational play I can’t go back to the way I used to play. Thanks Cindy!!

[@PleasantSims]

Neither can I! Thank you for watching!

[@UsulPrincess]

I'm a TS2 fangirl, but TS3 is where Story Progression shines. I used to love micromanaging premade families because I wasn't a legacy player until Generations came out. I don't want to keep track/age up/name babies from random people my sim knocked up etc.

[@vanyadolly]

One season rotations FTW! Five days every time. Never need a spreadsheet or anything, you can tell which household needs playing just by mousing over the house and seeing which season they're in.

[@ravenID429]

Isn’t it 4 days? I know the thing says 5 days left at the beginning but it goes by in quarters

[@ravenID429]

Update - apparently the first “quarter” lasts two days and somehow I never noticed😑 This whole time I’d thought there was like a problem where the days wouldn’t always progress

[@Ously6]

You know what the worst part about clicking on this vid is? I can’t play Sims 2. So why am I watching a vid telling me about how much fun Sims 2 is? I watch your Let’s Plays, I watch your streams and I’m constantly reminded how much better this game still is. XD I can remake Sims 2 townies all I want in Sims 4, but it’s just not the same

[@katouchegoll]

You can buy it on the Mac AppStore for 30£

[@lvzyours]

I do rotational play on sims 4 (cuz it gets a lil boring with just one family) and I used to do it on sims 3 too (even though it wasn’t necessary)!

[@champagnesupernova4081]

@@katouchegoll It's abandonware. She can download it for free.

[@leaselmary_sims2189]

Why can't you play Sims 2? It's not so hard to install.

[@thatguywithanumbrella]

@@leaselmary_sims2189 she might be uncomfortable with pirating. Especially if it's a good game. Or maybe she is in a country that doesn't have access to those sites, or she doesn't own computer and has dreaded console version of sims 4. Unfortunately there are a lot of reasons people can't or won't play the sims 2 despite wanting to.

[@nemanjakuc9513]

I was thinking about this gameplay, and wanted to know all answers. This helped me so much!

[@PleasantSims]

So glad to help!

[@Nat.ali.a]

I started playing rotational, one day in each family, and it is just so cooooooool. For example, one of my sims got flu, than in the other family I invited that sim to dinner and I forget she had flu, so she infected the other family, and so on, in the end of the rotation, the whole neighborhood was having a flu pandemic. It is so much more realistic and fun compared to playing with just one family.

[@osopeluche5953]

This is basically how I've been playing for years. I learned how to do it when I got addicte to the Build a City Challenge. It's either 7 Sims days or 1 season then I jump to the next family. I really recommend people to try it out.

[@PleasantSims]

It works very well for me! I love playing this way!

[@mistercritter]

I just looked it up, and a single season is 5 in-game days. That sounds like it would work better for me. Thanks for the tip!

[@olivethegreat]

The Build a City Challenge is what got me hooked on rotational gameplay, too! I’ve been playing my current Sims 2 BaCC since 2016.

[@TheMya1988]

I was a legacy player, until I did the Build a City challenge too. Although, I still have my legacy game saves, they too went to rotational gameplay. Haven't played in a while though, new gaming computer coming in a few weeks, going to fire up Sims 2 first, then Sims 3, using Cindy's tutorial for the rotational gameplay.

[@mariabelengracia8835]

I have always played like this, too! I'm so happy to find out I'm not the only one!

[@ee-co4264]

omg cindy is so freaking cute, I love that lip color

[@sofie5429]

Cindy is so cute and smart, I can’t get over it!

[@PleasantSims]

Aww, thanks Sofie!

[@Hendrik_McSims]

I'm lazy. My rotations are 1 day so I don't have to do maths when moving Sims, marrying off Sims and the most complicated one University.

[@PleasantSims]

Lol! That's a good system too!

[@KittyLuvr8239]

Wait, how does this solve the issue of university at all? 🤔 Do you just play them all 1 day at a time in university too?

[@Hendrik_McSims]

@@KittyLuvr8239 I play 1 day in the main hood and 2 days in university. Just like Cindy.

[@sharielane]

I do similar, but for me I play a semester of university (which is 3days)per day of the rest of the hood. For me that makes it easier to keep track. The only thing I have to worry about then is making sure the season ticks over (and is changed to 15 days via the Season's Adjuster) to keep it inline with the rest of the hood.

[@Anna_M_numbers]

My head don`t gave enough operative memory for your style

[@Christophee1987]

I've played rotationally for years, but I've never used any notes at all. I find it pretty easy to remember everything and keep up. My rounds are usually Mon-Thur, Thur-Sat, Sat-Mon, unless people are moving households and I have to lengthen/shorten some of them to keep things properly in sync.

[@vanyadolly]

Same. I almost feel like I'm missing out on the spreadsheet fun.

[@Treytinoxo]

I love how Cindy could write “actively enjoys recording thorough information on spreadsheets” on a resume and not be a liar. I love this type of content.

[@Absolution-kp5rd]

The way you play Sims 2 has really influenced how I play, I enjoy it even more, thanks Cindy!

[@PleasantSims]

I'm so glad!

[@EtherealMass]

I 'm not really strict about rotations, but I like playing with different families so I can create small friend groups and have a full neighbourhood like you said.

[@diddius5106]

I am really thankful that I found your yt channel half a year ago. You basically revolutionised my play style and it is so much better now. Thank you for sharing your game rules.

[@PleasantSims]

Thank you so much!!

[@Jftyty]

“Some people like to load up a family and torture them to death then quit.” That is one of the most accurate and hilarious lines I’ve ever heard

[@peat_bogs]

This is so helpful, I feel like I get easily overwhelmed with families in the Sims and then put off playing it even though it's a huge comfort game for me, I'll definitely be using this method when I get back into the game!!!

[@PleasantSims]

Glad to help!

[@SockTrollQueen]

Nice to know I am not weird for keeping meticulous journals of my Sim families.

[@snarkbotanya6557]

The micromanagement aspect is definitely a HUGE reason why I prefer Sims 2. My own method for keeping the neighborhood in sync is to keep track of how many days have been played, with "daughter" households sharing the days-played value of their "parent" household and any newly-created households being assigned to be in the same timeline as an established family. I do sometimes fudge the values a bit, though, or do something that interrupts a bit, such as aging Cassandra Goth down so that I can send her to University (the rationale being that after being left at the altar by Don and realizing her rebound with Darren is unhealthy, she decides to reevaluate her life and go to graduate school, where she'll discover a new aspiration for Knowledge and the true love of her life among the Uni Sims).

[@StoriesNStrategy]

If I ever lose my sims 2 fever again, all I'll probably have to do is watch this video. 🥰 It gets me excited about playing the game every single time. And in those 17 years of coming back to the sims 2 after a while, because I felt an itch to play, I've never been so excited about the game as I was after watching this video and finding your Edgewood series. 🥰 You really changed the way I play the game.

[@mdsims9229]

I love this type of gameplay. I was extremely bored with the sims before I ever watched your videos .. It really changed my way of playing and helped me enjoy more .. so thanks a lot

[@PleasantSims]

I'm so glad to help!!

[@AlexG-pp3oy]

I created a rotational system by myself years before I knew anyone else did it, so my way has a few quirks! I also have a system with different social groups based on personality with university acting as a test to get in, so my system and spreadsheet is really influenced by that. But I do 3 or 4 day rotations: always Monday-Wednesday and Thursday-Sunday. I count everyone who becomes a teen during the same rotation as the same age and will go to college together. If you aren’t fussed about having families be exactly the same age or in the same season then I think 3/4 works well! I also do one college year per rotation with the un-modded amount of days, and all graduations, teens leaving for college and house moves happen at the end of the round. I’ve been playing one neighbourhood like this for almost 8 years now and have around 130 individual families, so each rotation takes months! But it works for me, especially as I play without mods (apart from the corruption stopping ones of course)! Great video as always, I love seeing how other people do it :)

[@rickwilson4077]

I literally never have played rotationally. I usually just play randomly which, honestly, desyncs the ages and that did bother me. I just don't like playing sooo many families. The fact that the story progression mod works at least decently, I have been playing like that and it has worked out really well for me!

[@PleasantSims]

What's most important is playing in a way that's fun to YOU!

[@bialk0]

Since I started playing rotationally, the game feels more purposeful haha I love making up stories for the families and thinking who will end up with whom. I play custom neighborhood that somebody put up for download on mts and with no townie regon it feels even more like I'm there with them and know everyone better, having full control.

[@PleasantSims]

I know what you mean! I treat my neighborhoods like long-term projects that I work on for years!

[@sigmen4020]

I play rotationally for similar reasons to you, mainly getting bored of playing the same family over and over again. I play every family for 3 days every rotation, not because of a particular reason, this is just what I’ve become used to after playing Sims 2 for 10+ years. I don’t really keep a spreadsheet over where I am in a rotation, I mainly just leave a Sticky Note on my computer desktop which family I’ve reached, with the amount of days left when necessary. Instead of doing this I usually just play the families in a self explanatory manner, like in a circle or from one end of the neighborhood to the other depending on the neighborhood composition. I do keep spreadsheets for other stuff. I tend to keep track of stuff like every sims age and when every sim died etc. Other stuff is from neighborhood to neighborhood basis. I currently have three different neighborhoods I play from time to time. Two of them are hood styles that I got into relatively recently (last year). They’re premade recreation hoods, meaning that I start from the premades oldest ancestors and then periodically recreate the history of those hoods. For this I’ve used spreadsheets to determine when each new family should be introduced to the hood. The two recreation hoods I’m playing right now are Strangetown and Veronaville. I’m currently playing Veronaville a lot more because it’s hard to go back to my first recreation hood, Strangetown, since I made a ton of mistakes by basically introducing most of the ancestors to the hood at the same time, whereas my Veronaville hood is a lot more organized. In terms of progress of these hoods, I’ve gotten to the point where most of the adult premades in Strangetown are at the beginning of the teen life stage and in Veronaville I’m about to start the infamous feud between the Capp and Monty family through the love triangle between Contessa, Consort and Patrizio. The third hood is a hood type I’ve been playing around with for a while. It’s basically a neighborhood where I sometimes kill sims every rotation based on luck to keep things fresh. The way I determine who dies from this has become more and more complicated over the years. The reason I started doing this is that my hoods usually become pretty crowded just a few generations in, and also because having pretty much all my sims die happy and of old age got a bit stale after a while. With this system I’ve managed to keep playing these types of hoods for up to 6/7 generations at times without getting bored.

[@oljamedvedjeva3763]

Rotational player here, mostly thanks to you 😂 I find a week too long for a rotation, since too many age discrepancies between kids/teens can occur. So for me 3-4 days are ideal. The struggle sometimes is to stop playing one family and move to the other, but that's another story. The whole uni gig takes 4 sim days (aka years) in relation to the neighborhood, so for example if Dustin left on Friday before 6p.m. he started college on Saturday and must be returned to Pleasantview on Wednesday morning, if he finishes all 4 years of college. If I want to marry a sim from one family into another, i could stop the rotation halfway to sync up both households. For example, if I want Dustin and Lucy to get married and her to move in on the second day of Broke's rotation, and the Burb household is not played yet, i will pause with the Broke's, go over to the Burb's and play them for the same amount as the Broke's, then go back and have a wedding/move in. This way their ages are in sync and all sims were played the same amount. It sound chaotic and complicated as i write it, but in reality really fun 😉

[@Sebleons]

Me: playing randomly with a family without control Cindy: *open spreadsheets * Me: 🤯🤯🤯

[@scottlemay3386]

I miss the Sims 3 with the town moving around me too. I hope Paralives has the option to turn it on and off.

[@sarahjames9768]

no wonder your Sims feel so alive. you're so thorough!

[@SimnamaticTV]

You know you've hit a revelation when you watch Cindy's videos and you just go "why have I NOT been playing like that!?". I personally Thank you❤

[@sarahnash2148]

I have always played The Sims 2 rotationally, and also never get bored of playing this game! I have a custom hood with DOZENS of households, with Bluewater Village and all three university sub-hoods attached, so a rotation takes me a long time. I rarely send my teens to university together, because I don't think that's realistic - college is for meeting new people! - and I don't even send them all to the same campus. (A rotation takes me a REALLY long time.) I play the rounds in two parts: Mon-Thu, and Fri-Sat, because the weekends generally feel a little longer with kids not going to school. I don't have a spreadsheet, but instead keep a note of the day in the household description, and I keep track of any important events using the camera and story mode. Then when I load up a new family I can have a look through the story book and catch up on what happened last time. I love your videos, Cindy. I've just caught up on the original Pleasantview LP and am so happy to see another grown-ass woman obsessed with this game and playing in a similar style to me. I've taken on loads of your gameplay rules and CC recs (hacked computer, No20k handout, rules for assigning aspirations), so thank you for making my game even better. (Signed - a 31yo engineer with a mortgage who's also addicted to the Maxis virtual dollhouse)

[@SamBryans128]

Ah, someone else that plays the Sims accompanied by a spreadsheet. I feel less alone now.

[@HulaZombiex]

I started playing rotationally when I found your channel like 3 years ago, and there’s just no going back for me!🧡 Definitely my preferred way to play now!

[@AviaRayne2]

I was just on Sims 2 subreddit and I heard people talking about spreadsheets. Like you, I always just kept a notebook! After Googling, I found your sheets and then this video. Safe to say I found a new way to do Sims 2!!

[@chkris6889]

Its really good that you've decided to make content almost exclusively about things you're passionate about and that spread positivity. Youve seemed a lot happier in your recent videos, it's a noticeable change. It's good that you've been putting your happiness first, and I think the videos you've been making recently are great!

[@anastasia1522]

I just learned this was necessary when Alexander Goth became older than Cassandra 😂

[@koololdster]

Thank you for making rotational play an art form (in which you excel at). I have to play this way because one family at a time is BOORING and story progression messes up my beautiful families and the stories I want to create.

[@federicao4609]

Since i discover you Cindy i started to play rotationaly too, is so fun this way!! 🖒💗

[@PleasantSims]

It really is!

[@im-a-human-person]

Same! It really keeps the game fresh and interesting.

[@megantics7199]

I love playing this way because I am a spreadsheet junkie so when I discovered your channel waayyyy back in the day, I immediately fell in love with your play style! But it can get a little wonky sometimes and I'm intimidated by simPE, which makes it a little tricky at times to keep things synced. Thank goodness for season and day changer mods 😂

[@PleasantSims]

I rarely use Sim PE - only when I really screw up something in the game. Lol! But you can totally rely on mods to change almost everything you need!

[@nordern1]

"Playing a single family gets boring to me" Glances at own play style, where I play a single family without aging... To be fair, though, I also tend to only play the game maybe two months at a time before I drop it again

[@beanana5281]

Maybe that's why you drop it :P

[@julianapegas2043]

I always played the same family without aging! And didn't get bored of the game, I think I just like to fantasize about living forever and having time to do ALL the things XD But recently I got back to playing and have been really enjoying playing with a lot of families and having them get older etc.

[@gabrielab2700]

You inspired me to play the sims 2 again and in this way exactly and I look forward to playing every single day! I always got bored so quickly playing the sims 4

[@jamesy1005]

I play Pleasantview rotationally and use the length of the seasons to keep everyone in sync. I have made it so my university hood can be played that way too with mods, and then when my uni sims come back I take the 8 days to their lifespan to keep them in sync (which sounds like a lot of days but that was the shortest I could get uni without it being chaotic). Love hearing how other people play!

[@background4831]

Like many others, I started to play rotationally because of you. I used to play the familes whenever I wanted but I recently started a clean custom neighborhood of 4 sims that I'm playing rotationally. I even added in some custom townies so they could marry haha. One couple recently had a baby! Like you said, I feel attached to them haha. I can't wait to see them grow up and play future generations! :)

[@cluelessponyta2817]

Part of why I love sims 2 so much is I'm a major control freak. I've never played on a strict rotation before, usually I go off say there's a few children in the town and a family has a toddler, I play till the toddler grows up so they can meet other children. I've recently been trying some new gameplay ideas. From you, I took some inspiration from how you use wants- and I love it so thank you! I don't use wants as strictly as you do, but I usually go by them. But, sometimes I go off what I want. I got back into the sims 2 more deeply this January and have been redoing all my custom content, learning to make some of my own cc, and changing up my gameplay in some aspects. My main goal in sims is I adore huge family trees! I'm thinking about trying more strict rotational play, I think I'm gonna do week rotations. I think that'll me the right amount of time to me as I like to binge and play fast. I don't need to use a spreadsheet because somehow I manage to always remember everything (if only I could remember stuff for school so well). I do like to make notes when making a new neighborhood for families and such before I make them, though. Recently I got sims city 4 for map building for sims 2. I'm working on a new custom hood to play and the map for it only needs the roads which I can't figure out how I want and have redone a million times. Finding my gameplay style has been really fun! I love how customizable the sims 2 is; the core gameplay is solid and everything else around it you can change to your preferences. Not a lot of games can do that so well.

[@ellenorjenns3035]

I love the enthusiasm that you always have for rotational play Cindy! Though I now use the Story Progression mod, you were the one who got me to try rotational play when I first starting playing Sims 2 about a year ago 😀 Thank you for keeping the love for Sims 2 alive in your own way! ❤️

[@Theliltsage]

Your love for The Sims 2 is admirable. All of your videos have helped to steer me back; it's like KZbin knew to throw your videos in my recommendations. Thank you so much!

[@thebilliespace]

I've just reinstalled the game and rotational gameplay just made sense since day 1. I'm combining my own family with premade sims both in lots and from the bin. I don't keep track of time, but I usually play for about 3 hours and stop when something big happens like childbirth or going on vacation. Idk this way it fulfills all of my storyteller needs.

[@loralogue]

Somewhere in a box I have notebooks tracking plot lines and relationships from when I was younger. The big difference when I play is that I don't necessarily keep the same order, when I start a new round I decide which order to play them based on who's aging up or moving in or out. I'll also do a split turn if I have a sim moving across households so I can play up until when I'll have them leave, go to the house they'll move to, have them move in on the correct day, then return to their previous household. This is also much easier to keep track of playing the round length of one season as you can tell from the neighbourhood view who has and hasn't finished the round yet. I also noticed you do aspiration by star sign?! Could never be me. When sims become teens it's time to crack out the dice. So in other news I'm in the process of getting a formal autism diagnosis. I'm sure that's unrelated.

[@SetoKnight]

That is such a cool idea for rotational play and very organized. I play rotationally as well but what I do is when I start a new family the season is summer. Then I play that family until winter. Then save and go to a new family who is on the season Summer and I will keep playing different families until all their seasons match up.

[@olivethegreat]

I play rotationally by weeks from Monday @ 8:00 am to Monday @ 8:00 am. I find that gives me enough time with each family. I keep a spreadsheet too but I see some things from yours I really want to add to mine. I count one year of Uni as one day and I also “stagger” sending the teen sims to Uni to keep their ages properly synced. I keep track of the day of the week I sent the teen to college (4 days before they age to adult) and then calculate the day they should come back. I then either 1. Play the household the sim is moving back to up to the day the graduate will return and then stop or, 2. Use the day setter if the graduate lives alone to put them at the correct day they should be at in the rotation. That works fantastic for me, personally. For example, if Bob lives with his parents and I plan to move him back after Uni, I’ll send him to college four days before he ages up to adult - let’s say Monday @ 8:00 am. I then play Bob’s family up to Friday @ 8:00 am and stop. I then go play Bob through college and once he graduates, I move him back in on that Friday @ 8:00 am, then I finish playing that family for the round. If I decided to change my mind and have him live alone, I’d move him to his own lot and set the day to Friday and play him out for the rest of the week. I’d also go back and finish playing his family.

[@kirnrny]

I haven’t played ts2 in a while, but when i revisited it in my adult life (after the sims 3 got so laggy it was impossible) i played pleasantview rotationally and LOVED IT. i always just kept track of how many days each household was played on a piece of paper but i would definitely do spreadsheets in the future! I kept my rotations shorter, around 1-3 days each so that ages/life changes didn’t get too far ahead relative to other households during each one, and i’d always work them around people’s birthdays so that if someone was about to age up (or go to college) i’d end their rotation and then make sure every other household was caught up to the same day before i play them again, so that the neighborhood’s ages were all synced perfectly with each person’s age up (if that makes sense lol)!! I felt that that made it better when there were kids and teens only a few days apart from each other so that their age groups stayed accurate at all times

[@thatsmecolleen]

I’ve been playing Sims 2 for yeeeeaaaarrrss and never thought to play like this. I recently came across your channel, and you inspired to me to play this way! It’s re-sparked my love for the game! Love your videos and Sims 2 content, Cindy! ❤️

[@jesshikalol]

this is so organized, i play my sims as if its a sims series. I focus heavily on two households at a time, sometimes three depending who the story ties with

[@DandiLion22]

Finding your channel in the beginning of 2019 not only rekindled my love for Sims 2, but also changed the way I play. I never played rotationally growing up, but now I can’t imagine ever going back to playing only one family. Also, shout out to the Last Podcast on the Left shirt! My husband and I love that podcast 😄

[@rowanh8194]

Just wanted to pop in and say that I LOVE the impact your recent decisions and changes for this channel have had on your well-being and you content - you are positively glowing! ✨ Also, it's nice to see that someone else geeks out with spreadsheets to track their game. 💙

[@ethanolintoxication]

i love how passionate you are about playing as many families and stories as possible

[@nakymatonlapsiN]

your sims 2 videos are super helpful! i used to have an in-depth system like this back in the day, complete with spreadsheets and rules to keep aging consistent. now im trying a more laid back approach with just a piece of paper i mark off my households on :D

[@beecampbell]

I've pretty much been playing your way for about a year (with spreadsheets and all) and I've never been happier with my game. It's more satisfying, it feels more complete. I used to hate playing in custom neighborhoods and now it's all I do because I feel like I'm doing it right!

[@chesleabee]

I didn't start rotational play until I found your channel, Cindy. It has really changed the way I play!! I'm not as detailed in my spreadsheet but almost everything else I have modeled after you! Thanks for introducing me to this style of gameplay!!

[@fiverabbits9049]

I never used to play rotationally to the point where my twins would be so drastically different in age. Ever since I found out about your channel, I've been using a lot of your rules. Rotationally playing hoods, spreadsheets, and favorite colors..! I love everything you do here, but I can't give my poor sims taxes XD I find that playing for a season is the best! Everyone can celebrate holidays together, and 5 days isn't too long for me to get bored :P

[@PleasantSims]

I prefer to play by season too! Once I finish my current round of Pleasantview, I'm moving to 4-day seasonal rounds!

[@timpancakes2011]

I am a rotational player too and also have a spreadsheet!! I really love yours. And I 100% understand what you mean by it being "fun" tracking ages and storylines for the whole neighborhood!! Thanks so much for the video.

[@julierethen3654]

OMG! This is really the smartest way of playing Sims I've ever seen! As soon as I finish my exams I'll give this method a try!

[@beccajpix]

Cindy, you're a legend! I've done almost this same thing for 13 years as well, and always thought I was alone until I found your channel. I started out with making my own first family and growing from there, as I didn't know what I was doing, haha. I'm now almost on my 8th generation and play around 60 households (Not including University households), but for one sim day at a time. Each of my sims have very individual personalities and crazy storylines, so I never get bored. I just don't have as much time to play as I used to! It takes a very specific type of person to enjoy playing like this, but I know there are a lot of us out there! Keep up the LP!

[@snowiii95]

Since you started your new series I've been in love with the way you play! And the rotational way not only is it fun but really refreshing. We get to enjoy a bit of everything!

[@PleasantSims]

I agree! It keeps things interesting for me!

[@gabrielsouza8480]

Cindy, thank you so much for re-igniting my love for my favorite childhood game. I never knew this way of playing TS2 until I found you. I've redownloaded the game and been playing rotationally for a few months now and it's been SO MUCH FUN. Something I do to keep track of the University students' ages is create a spreadsheet with the days of the week on the top and the names of the students to the left, and then color the days each student is supposed to be at University. Having a visual makes it very simple to keep up with.

[@FelricFortuna]

Your gameplay style makes so much sense and its so much fun! Since your first LP you change the way I play the Sims 2, so thank you so much!

[@marianogueira8653]

Cindy, you're magical! Thank you so much for the amount of love and energy you put into Sims 2. Thanks to you I'm back to playing it and I've found another reason to be happy in such dark times. I really wanna try playing rotationally, but I'm waiting to do it with my own neighborhood. I think it'll be a nice change of air for me!

[@arielcutie9649]

Cindy I’m obsessed with your channel and your current series I’m here for it and I love it 💕

[@bethwaechter8927]

I love how detailed you explained this! I have played this way for awhile but you do it so much better lol

[@franzikempf5980]

I only recently discovered your channel and now I'm addicted to Sims 2 again :D Thank you so much for these awesome videos

[@hotmeelk500]

God, that's marvelous, the more I listen about rotation playstyle the more I wanna play this way 🥺 Gonna attempt it next time I play, thanks for the usual amazing content Cindy❤

[@Ladysimwolf]

Ik this is an older video, but thank you. You have REALLY helped me get back into Sims 2 and experience it in a whole new way. Absolutely love the spreadsheets. Thank you for sharing them.

[@margedelen]

Honestly I LOVE rotationally, it’s so fun! Genuinely love playing every family in a neighbourhood in all games. Also the way you do a spreadsheet is so amazing and organising! I also don’t like doing challenges either, it’s just not fun. I love playing a game and having a story and playing with several families!! 💜

[@QueenLuce]

This is so cool. I get too attached to one family over others so idk if I'd be a rotational player but now you're making me want to try it out. This looks like a lot of fun.

[@spacecase7504]

I LOOOOOVE how organized this is! Thank you the tips Cindy!

[@edwardk6464]

This is awesome! I've been doing this with a neighborhood that combines pleasantview, strangetown and veronaville - I'm on round 12 now playing 24h for each household. I also love playing other neighborhoods in non-rotational ways but I've really been enjoying the structure that playing in rotation brings! I love how detailed your spreadsheet is, lots of stats I never even thought to keep note of!

[@cupobug4848]

Thank you for making this guide! I struggle with boredom in the sims, and I feel like this will help keep me engaged.

[@Morgan8877]

I got super excited when i saw your t-shirt, I love the last podcast on the left!

[@jeannahicks7251]

I am blown away by your organization! I love watching your Sims 2 LP since I never got to play the Sims 2.

[@loregnomo]

I REALLY love the way you play, the other day I was thinking I could never do it myself (and happy I had you to watch!!) but making a neighborhood with 3 families to test it out is VERY interesting....

[@DoubleDash7]

I struggled for ages to find a way to play the game with all the ages in sync and your Rotational game play was the answer! It fits my OCD personality. 😂 Thank you for sharing this again! I think I'm about to restart my Uberhood, so this is helpful! 😁

[@rayvenm]

Adopting your style of play and it’s sooooo fun! Following your rules especially has been so interesting and a lot of random things I never even thought to do have popped up. Thanks for your website it’s the best!!! ❤️

[@alyssapersinger5911]

This is literally how I play the sims 2 now because of you and I LOVE it!

[@joanazappa9937]

This makes me so happy, I've been playing this way for years and hands down best way, would recommend.

[@SilverMoon91]

My rotational game actually started with a legacy Challenge. I wanted to make things different and keep the siblings and their families growing up in same pace. Every now and then I have added new blood to the neighborhood, but after about 15 years of playing on and off, you can pretty much find a connection to the original founder of the family, from every single sim in my neighborhood. I do keep very detailed record of the families, I use flashnote to keep up with everything. The duration of one rotation changes up quite a lot, I have had 2 simday (2year) rotation, which makes it easier to also keep up with University, also I have done it with one week (7 simdays), but I prefer the 2-4 simdays. Love that you keep Sims 2 alive here in KZbin!

[@buttersstan97]

i’ve been playing the sims like this since 2004! i’ve always loved focusing on the legacy of my families, especially on TS2 and TS3! i’m definitely going to use your excel idea, that’s really neat ☺️

[@manikinfear]

I love how much detail and care you put in when you play. :)

[@OrpheusMC]

Thank you for this video! I was so surprised and intrigued watching how you played your newest LP! I’ve never heard of this style of Sims gameplay before this but now I really want to try it! Personally I think I’d be okay doing with in tS3 with the story progression. Being present for each important moment sounds really nice but coming back to a family and seeing what fresh new hell they’ve created while I’m gone sounds really fun too lol.

[@zookeeps1340]

Tbh what I find so just like interesting is that 1 sim day would be 3 months for us, as pregnant sims are pregnant for 3 days which would be 9 months, that means 4 sim days are a year for us

[@witchofwillow1206]

This is the only way I play and that’s why I continue to only play the Sims 2 because I can keep up with each individual family and their continuation. I keep my sims’ names in a binder and add details of the sims according to my interest in their specific storylines. I also do a social security number and include maiden and married names. I have many different integrated families of all types. I started this so I wouldn’t have “the” small town problem in the family trees. My binder also helps keep up with the chronological order of births, since the sims 2 doesn’t have story progression for the entire town.